First for Culture in Wales

Catfish and the Bottlemen, a Llandudno act, have been all over the music press recently and from 2014 onwards, they’re also going to be all over the world.

They’re one of the first acts to benefit from the Music Export Growth Scheme which was set up by BPI – who also organise the BRIT Awards show and the Classic BRIT Awards show. The scheme will help the band to promote themselves globally.

“As the record industry changes, labels have less resources to support touring as they have in the past, but still need to get the band in the US territory. The BPI fund will prove a great solution for this,” says Neil Simpson of ATC Management.

The act are one of the first 14 to receive the funding. They received help from the Welsh Music Foundation who encouraged them to apply in order to build on the success of WOMEX, which happened last October in Cardiff.

Catfish and the Bottlemen were among 100 other acts applying for the fund.

“The Music Export Growth Scheme funding is a much needed initiative which will be of huge benefit for Catfish and the Bottlemen. It’s vital that acts have the necessary support to export their work internationally, as we encourage all emerging acts to think globally,” said WMF chief executive John Rostron. “The Welsh music industry continues to mirror the growth of the sector in the UK as a whole, and we are seeing success both creatively and commercially.”

Rostron also said that WOMEX – which is estimated to have contributed over £3M to the Welsh Economy throughout its duration – ‘was a watershed moment for Welsh music.’